As a Liverpool fan, I love watching this man play in real life. He's mesmerizing, he's magical and most importantly, he's absolutely lethal. Mané has three major aspects to his game - his pace, his power, and his dribbling. This card captures those three aspects perfectly.

In-Game Stats

Mané's in-game stats are ludicrous. Without any boosts, he has 96 acceleration and 93 sprint speed, making him one of the fastest cards in the game. He has 89 positioning, 88 finishing, 81 shot power, making him deadly up front. His dribbling stats are top-notch, with 93 agility, 89 balance, 87 ball control and 90 dribbling, and his powerful play-style is perfectly captured in his 88 stamina, 77 strength and 78 aggression.

I used him with the Marksman chemistry style, on 7 chemistry as a striker. Even on 7 chemistry, the boosts are remarkable - his positioning and shot power go up by 6, his finishing by 3, all of his dribbling stats (except for balance) by 3, and he receives 80 strength with 81 aggression.

He also comes with the "Speed Dribbler" and "Tries to Beat Defensive Line" traits, making this card even better.

Squad

I love the 4321 this year, and I love all the players in this side. I'm currently saving up to buy that Sergio Ramos card, which would really complete this team.

Stats

I've now used Mané for 18 games, and here are my stats with him:

Price: His SBC cost me ~240K total

Games: 18

Goals: 30

Assists: 4

Let's get into the review.

Review

Pace: 10/10

He's fast. He's really, really fast. He's so fast it will blow your mind. He's fast enough to get past most players on this game, and fast enough to give even the really fast ones a run for their money. He's that fast. He's so fast you want to use sprint sparingly. He's very, very fast.

Also, did I mention that he's ridiculously fast?

Dribbling: 10/10

Perfect. When I first started using him, I thought he gave the ball away a lot when I was trying to turn or do skill moves. The simple remedy for that is to, the second before you turn or skill, release the sprint button, make your move, and then accelerate. You master that, you master Mane, and you master FUT 18. I love this card on the ball -- dribbling is silky smooth, agility and balance are incredible, and the reactions are high enough.

Shooting: 9/10

The only downside here is that he can be a little inconsistent in front of goal, but once again, that's only if he's at top, top speed. Slow down for a nanosecond before pulling the trigger, and the ball will be tearing through the back of the net (actually, thanks to the awful net animations, it will probably just hit the net and fall straight to the ground). His finishing inside the box is great, and he can do it on either foot. Low-driven shots, finesse shots, straight up power shots -- all of them are deadly. I especially like his finesse shots from the edge of the box. Didn't get to score a long shot with him, but given the state of long shots in this game, I'm sure he's fine in that regard.

Passing: 9/10

Gets the job done. Run down the wing, cut inside, drill a pass into the penalty area, and watch as chaos ensues. Or, skirt past the opponent, whip a cross in, and watch Martial score or hit the crossbar. He's very, ver effective as a winger this year, and I have no complaints. He's no Xavi, but hey, no one is asking him to be.

Defending: N/A

He's a LW on 7 chemistry playing at ST. Give him a break.

That being said, pace + strength + aggression + stamina = handful for any defender trying to keep the ball away from him.

Physical: 9/10

Very, very strong in game, especially if you shield properly. He can hold off opponents long enough to use his pace to get past them, or push a defender for just long enough to get a shot or pass away. I especially like his stamina, because it means that he can run all game long. Even in the 90th minute, he'll be an absolute workhorse, and one of the fastest players on the pitch.

Is he worth it?

This is a new section that I will start including for the SBC cards I review. I want to try to give you an idea of whether the card is worth it, before you sink hundreds of thousands of coins into an untradeable player.

In Mané's case, he really is. For 240K, you are getting an elite player, who is built to exploit the game mechanics in FUT 18. He's an absolute game-changer, and a joy to use.

If you are reluctant to lock 250K into an untradeable player this early in FUT 18, and understandably so, look at it this way. This POTM card is a significant, significant boost over the base card. If (read: when) he gets an IF, it probably won't be this good, and if it is, it's going to go for far, far more than 250k. Considering that his base card was 80k before this SBC came out, I think a comparable IF card will be ~400k.

Furthermore, you are going to shell out pretty much the same amount for a comparable player. A common alternative would be Alexis Sanchez, but I feel like Mané is streets ahead of of Alexis in this game (it's the pace and power of Mané that gives him the W here).

Verdict: Worth it.

Summary

This is one of my favorite cards this year (after my all-time favorite, my lord and savior, the G.O.A.T., Anthony Martial). I think it plays perfectly to the game mechanics, and exploits them ruthlessly. You need your attacking players to be fast (did I mention he was fast?), good on the ball, have a good shot, and be able to hold their own in challenges, and Mané checks all of these boxes.

I know he's untradeable, and I know he's expensive (I guess you could say he costs a lot of Mané), but he's absolutely, absolutely worth it. This card will change your attack, and take your gameplay to the next level. An unreal player.

10/10 would recommend.

In the first month of FIFA 18, I'll be trying to review as many players as possible. If you have any suggestions on what players you want reviewed, or if you have any questions about the ones I have already reviewed, feel free to comment below, or send me a tweet (@Wookiechew23)!